Summer sounds fill R.I. coffers

BRASS ATTACK: French horn virtuoso Eric Ruske performs at The Breakers in Newport as part of the Newport Music Festival. The classical-music event is now in its 45th season and remains a major draw. / COURTESY NEWPORT MUSIC FESTIVAL
BRASS ATTACK: French horn virtuoso Eric Ruske performs at The Breakers in Newport as part of the Newport Music Festival. The classical-music event is now in its 45th season and remains a major draw. / COURTESY NEWPORT MUSIC FESTIVAL

Music is one of Rhode Island’s top summer draws, headlined by the Newport jazz and folk festivals, which unfold enticingly on the grounds of Fort Adams State Park along Newport Harbor, framed by the Pell Bridge.
The quality of music and the stunning waterfront location attract up to 10,000 visitors a day during the two festival weekends.
“We get international recognition through the festivals, especially the jazz festival,” said Larry Mouradjian, associate director of natural resources for the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.
The jazz and folk festivals had an economic impact of more than $5 million in the state last year, with about 90 percent of festival-goers coming to Rhode Island specifically for those events, a study commissioned by DEM and released last month found.
Music tourists appear to again be enthusiastic heading into the 2013 season, if ticket sales for the Newport Folk Festival from July 26-28 are any indication.
“This year we heard that the folk festival sold out before the whole lineup was even advertised,” Mouradjian said. “People have come to have a high anticipation for the festival. They’re assured of a high-quality [performance], so they’re willing to buy tickets even before they know who’s playing.”
The DEM commissioned the study in order to determine the value of the festivals for the public venue, he said.
“We’re looking at events at Fort Adams as economic drivers for the state,” Mouradjian said.
The internationally known jazz and folk festivals, along with other classical, pop and cultural music festivals around the state, add up to a valuable playlist of music tourism for the Rhode Island economy.
“The travel industry is highly competitive and everyone wants to know what’s new,” said Evan Smith, president and CEO of Discover Newport, the city’s convention and visitors bureau. “Music helps keep us fresh and relevant and vibrant. There’s this constant pressure point to present what’s hot and what’s not, and music is one of those platforms.” The range of musical offerings in the Ocean State brings in tourists from around the region, the nation and the globe.
In the unique venue of the mansions of the Gilded Age, the Newport Music Festival offers classical music for 14 days during the summer season.
“They’re smaller venues. You can hear some of the finest classical musicians in the world,” said Evans. “You can hear a piano player in the Great Hall of The Breakers.”
Unique backdrops like that give the classical music festival international appeal, attracting about 10,000 people to more than 60 concerts each season, said Mark Malkovich IV, general manager of the Newport Music Festival.
“The festival has been bringing international artists to the state for the past 44 years,” said Malkovich.”More than 125 artists have made their U.S. debuts at the Newport Music Festival.
“This 45th season, from July 12-28, features more than 70 artists from 18 countries,” he said. “The Newport Music Festival is very important to the cultural fabric of Rhode Island.”
There’ll be very different music coming from the Newport Yachting Center, on the waterfront in the heart of downtown Newport, with artists including the B52s and Willie Nelson performing at the Sunset Music Series, which runs May through August.
“These four festivals, with folk, jazz, classical and popular music, are our major music events,” said Smith. “Added to that, we have a very vibrant nightclub scene offering lots of music. So if visitors eat dinner, and want to go out after that, they have lots of choices for music. And a lot of times in the summer, there are bands outside and that’s fun.”
All that music adds up to a solid stream of tourism dollars.
“These festivals have enormous impact in terms of hotel revenues, dining and shopping,” said Smith. Music tourism also has roots in other Rhode Island locales.
The Rhythm & Roots Festival at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, always over Labor Day weekend, is in its 16th year.
“We have Cajun, zydeco, blues, swing, jazz, country and world music,” said Chuck Wentworth, co-producer of the festival. “We are allowed to have 1,500 campers on site. They’re in everything from tents to huge RVs. Everyone else fills up the hotels from Mystic, Conn. to Warwick.”
Over the weekend, an estimated 10,000-12,000 festival-goers come to Rhythm & Roots, where the welcome mat is always out for families, said Wentworth. There’s a family stage, a playground, children’s activities and movies in the evening.
“We could bring in some acts that would draw more people, but if we lose that family-friendly atmosphere, then what’s the point?” said Wentworth.
The music-tourism dollars coming into Rhythm & Roots arrives with visitors from 34 states, as well as Canada and many European countries, including France, England, Ireland, Germany and Italy, said Wentworth.
One important point is to keep the money from the festival in-state, as much as possible, for vendors and services, such as fencing, he said.
“I grew up in Rhode Island and I live 10 minutes from Ninigret Park,” Wentworth said. “I try to spend as much as I can in the local economy.”
Wentworth’s company name, Lagniappe Productions, has Cajun roots.
“Lagniappe is a Cajun term. It means an unexpected treat, something that people don’t expect,” Wentworth said. “That’s our philosophy. We try to give people a little more than they anticipate.”
In Rhode Island, that little extra might mean the dollars that flow into the state from music festivals. When you start counting in millions of dollars, as in the economic impact from the Newport jazz and folk festivals alone, it’s an especially welcomed, upbeat rhythm for Rhode Island tourism. •

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